The Ship

by C. S. Forester

Overview

The Ship is the heroic tale of a few hours in the life of a British light cruiser in World War II, and of the men on it. Before writing The Ship, C.S.Forester spent several weeks on a similar warship, and has given us a very clear picture of the actual thoughts and emotions of the men as they carry out their tasks of fighting in and maintaining a modern warship. The Ship is part of the protecting screen of a convoy vital to the continued effectiveness of Malta, an island in the Mediterranean See south of Italy. And Malta in 1942 was threatened with every danger the imagination could conceive — the danger of attack from the air, of attack from the sea, of pestilence and of famine. A civilian population of a quarter of a million, and a garrison of God only knew how many, were on short rations until the food these ships carried should be delivered to them. And to escort the convoy through there were only these five light cruisers and a dozen destroyers — the convoy had to get through, and if it were reckless to risk it with such an escort, then recklessness had to be tolerated. Malta did hold out throughout the war, through the successes of the Ship and other naval efforts. Here we have an insight into the characters of the men who sailed in those ships, and can better realize, from this book, how they did their jobs, what they thought, the commitments and sacrifices they made to eventually bring peace.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940013625655
Publisher:	eNet Press Inc.
Publication date:	10/31/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	281
File size:	750 KB

About the Author

C. S. Forester (1899 - 1966) wrote several novels with military and naval themes, including The African Queen, The Barbary Pirates, The General, The Good Shepherd, The Gun, The Last Nine Days of the "Bismarck" and Rifleman Dodd. But Forester is best known as the creator of Horatio Hornblower, a British naval genius of the Napoleonic era, whose exploits and adventures on the high seas Forester chronicled in a series of eleven acclaimed historical novels. Over the years, Hornblower has proved to be one of the most beloved and enduring fictional heroes in English literature, his popularity rivaled only by Sherlock Holmes.

Born Cecil Louis Troughton Smith in Cairo, Egypt, Forester grew up in London. At the start of World War II, he traveled on behalf of the British government to America, where he produced propaganda encouraging the United States to remain on Britain's side. After the War, Forester remained in America and made Berkeley, California, his home.

The character of Horatio Hornblower was born after Forester was called to Hollywood to write a pirate film. While the script was being drafted, another studio released Captain Blood, starring Errol Flynn, based on the same historical incidents about which Forester was writing. Rather than seek another movie project, and to avoid an impending paternity suit, Forester jumped aboard a freighter bound for England. By the end of the voyage he had outlined Beat to the Quarters, which introduced the now legendary character Hornblower, Bush, and Lady Barbara.

Forester died in 1966 while working on Hornblower During the Crisis.

Author biography courtesy of Time Warner.

Date of Birth:

August 27, 1899

Date of Death:

April 2, 1966

Place of Birth:

Cairo, Egypt

Place of Death:

Berkeley, California

Education:

AlleynGuy's Medical School of the University of London